Last Stop on Market Street

This is one of my favorite books, reminding me of my days taking the bus into the inner city as a special education paraprofessional. Last Stop on Market Street also happens to be a #1 New York Times bestseller and was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, and the Newbery Medal. It’s a simple yet profound story about a grandmother and her grandson riding the bus through the city. The power of the story is in how Nana narrates their journey, opening CJ’s eyes to the beauty around him, helping him notice and focus on the good surrounding them instead of what is frustrating, lacking, or missing. Nana helps CJ find the beauty and joy in the normalcy and even mess of life, all while teaching him to notice, respect, and serve the people with whom he comes into contact.

Content: 5/5

Like the best teachers, Nana reshapes CJ’s perspective through modeling, primarily, instead of chastising or preaching to CJ. What she teaches CJ boils down to two emphases: seeing and serving.

See

She teaches him to see with his heart and his imagination—to see others and to filter what he sees through a grid of gratefulness. As they get on and ride the bus, CJ says things like, “How come we gotta”; “How come we don’t got”; “How come we always gotta”; “Sure wish I had one of those”. CJ sees rain, Nana sees a big tree “drinking through a straw”; CJ sees his friend riding in a car (while he needs to depend on public transportation/walking), while Nana sees “a bus that breathes fire”; CJ sees a blind man who can’t see, Nana sees a man who “watch[es] the world with [his] ears”; CJ sees two boys listening to an iPod—another thing that CJ doesn’t own—while Nana sees an opportunity to enjoy the live guitar music from the man across the aisle; CJ sees dirt and crumbling buildings in the soup kitchen neighborhood, while Nana sees a rainbow arching over the dilapidated doors. She tells him, “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful”—and CJ “wonder[s] how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look.”

“Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt . . . you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

Nana also challenges CJ to see with his imagination. She recognizes the beauty of art and its ability to nourish our souls, to help us dream, and take us beyond what we’re experiencing in the moment—beyond what we can see with our eyes. Sometimes, seeing is about pausing and closing your eyes: “in the darkness, the rhythm [of the guitar player’s music] lifted CJ out of the bus, out of the busy city. . . CJ’s chest grew full and was lost in the sound and the sound gave him the feeling of magic.”

Sometimes, seeing is about pausing and closing your eyes.

Nana recognizes the beauty of art and its ability to nourish our souls, to help us dream, and take us beyond what we’re experiencing in the moment—beyond what we can see with our eyes.

Nana doesn’t deny what CJ sees or even try to reason his disappointments away, but she draws his eyes to what’s better, to focus on the people around him, to see the beauty even in the hard. She draws his heart and his feet toward others, toward serving.

Serve

Throughout the story, Nana notices and honors others and teaches CJ to do the same: she gives everyone on the bus “a great big smile and a ‘good afternoon’” and makes sure CJ does likewise; she shares a laugh with a blind man sitting on the bus and squeezes his hand; she draws CJ’s attention toward the bus driver who always has a trick for him and toward the musician sitting across the aisle—and then prompts CJ to drop a coin in his hat.

Of course, the two’s journey has service at its heart: their destination is a soup kitchen. On a Sunday afternoon, when most of us look forward to going home (if we’ve attended church in the morning) and enjoying a meal, nap, or TV show, Nana and CJ go serve others. They move away from comfort (their home and church) and toward what’s different and uncomfortable (a rougher part of the city). And between the two are the discomfort of waiting in the rain for a bus—a mode of transportation necessitates patience and possibly a level of discomfort that wouldn’t come with one’s own vehicle. It’s plain in the text that CJ does not want to go to the soup kitchen on a Sunday afternoon to help, but it’s a testament to the power of serving others—and the power of relationship—that by the time their bus ride has ended and they arrive to see “familiar faces”, CJ quips “I’m glad we came.”

Design: 5/5

This story seems to have been made for illustrator Christian Robinson—or perhaps it’s the illustrator that was made for the story. Either way, story and illustrations blend together seamlessly. Indeed, according to the book flap, Robinson “grew up riding the bus with his nana—just like CJ. He would often daydream during commutes through the city and make up stories as he watched people go about their busy days.” Robinson makes use of bold colors and his illustrations resemble art created with ripped paper.

Style: 5/5

De la Peña has a background in creative writing, and it shows in the text. His story—like the nana he writes about—embodies the principle “show don’t tell.” De la Peña sprinkles the text with imagistic details to help the reader imagine what’s not pictured on the page. The prose is tight and concise, relying mostly on conversation to move the story along. De la Peña makes excellent use of active verbs (sighed, sagged, lurched) and mixes in literary devices like personification (“Trees get thirsty, too . . . don’t you see that big one drinking through a straw?”) and alliteration (“The bus . . . sighed and sagged and the doors swung open.”)

Overall rating: 15/15

Who can you SEE and SERVE today?

I’ll be adding a new feature to my book reviews where I list some questions that you can ponder by yourself or with the little person in your life. I hope these will serve to spark some good discussion!

Questions for discussion:

• In what area/s of your life is it hard for you to be thankful/content right now?
• Where do you see God’s goodness even in those tough situations, like the rainbow arching over the soup kitchen at the end of the story?
• Why does serving others help our moods/help us feel better, often?
• Who is “driving your bus” or “sitting across from you on the bus”—perhaps someone who is part of your everyday life that you tend to overlook or take for granted? In other words, who can you SEE and SERVE today?

Today, let’s look for the music in the mundane, the beauty in the people sitting across from us, and the rainbows arching over our broken, beautiful lives.

Use this link to purchase your own copy of Last Stop on Market Street, or gift this beautiful book to a friend!

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I receive a small commission when you use one of my links to purchase a product. Please support your local bookstores and businesses, but also consider supporting me! Thank you!